Tri-State leaders react to Darren Wilson's resignation

Sen. Cecil Thomas: Resignation allows Ferguson to begin to heal

Even 13 years removed from the Cincinnati riots, comparisons exist between what happened in Ferguson and how it was handled. Tri-State leaders say this Darren Wilson's resignation is not surprising and might even start a small amount of healing.

In a telephone interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Wilson said he resigned after the police department told him it received threats of violence if he remained an employee.

"I'm resigning of my own free will," Wilson said. "I'm not willing to let someone else get hurt because of me."

He said resigning was "the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

Minister Peterson Mingo told WLWT he understands why Wilson resigned and said his career as a police officer might be over.

"Right now his life is under a microscope, everybody knows him, there is a whole lot of pressure in being a police officer and with this hanging over him I don't think he would have a whole lot of opportunities for advancement," Mingo said.

Mingo preaches at Christ Temple Baptist Church and often counsels families that have lost loved ones from gun violence or a police confrontation.

"It would be almost impossible for him to have a relationship, a positive relationship with the community. An overwhelming majority of those he knows and those who are in that area would definitely look down upon him," Mingo said.

State Senator-Elect Cecil Thomas said Wilson's resignation is a good decision and an opportunity for Ferguson to start healing.

"The city could not move forward as long as that officer remained on the police force under those questionable kind of circumstances," Thomas said.

Both Mingo and Thomas said Ferguson has many similarities to Cincinnati's own riots in 2001 and the aftermath.

After he was acquitted for the shooting death of Timothy Thomas, Officer Stephen Roach resigned from the Cincinnati Police Department.

"I just think that Ferguson can look at what we've done in Cincinnati and really learn a lot and maybe have a collaborative agreement up there that they might want to engage in," Thomas said.